Monday Fulham Stuff (15/05/17)...

[WhiteJC]

 
WATCH - Jaap Stam defends Ireland's Paul McShane after reckless red card challenge


Paul McShane of Reading fouls Kevin McDonald of Fulham and is later sent off for the challenge



Jaap Stam insisted Reading's play-off semi-final against Fulham remains wide open.

The Royals may now be favourites to progress to Wembley after escaping back to Berkshire with a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage.

But they had skipper Paul McShane sent off - meaning he will miss the second leg and the final should Reading get there - while goalscorer Jordan Obita left the field on a stretcher.

Obita had opened the scoring against the run of play but Tom Cairney equalised before the 10 men withstood a late onslaught.

And Royals boss Stam said: "I'm not talking about 'advantage Reading'.

"We know what we can do, we are confident in our squad, and Fulham are a very talented team. Home advantage doesn't guarantee anything, we will have to work hard."

McShane saw a straight red card with 10 minutes remaining after a high tackle on Fulham midfielder Kevin McDonald.

Stam added: "I've seen it back, he hits the player, but he doesn't do that on purpose.

"He's trying to reach the ball and the player nicked it away and he was just a bit late.

"He's been very important for us throughout the season, but he's had injuries as well and other players needed to step up so we can win a game without Paul McShane.

"Obita twisted his ankle so we have to have a look at that. Tuesday is very close. Jordan and Macca are important but we have a big squad so I'm not over-worried.

"We trust all our players. I've seen plenty today to say we can still do it."

After a first period spent camped in their own half, Reading stunned the hosts when Obita fired them into the lead eight minutes after the interval.

Fulham felt Stefan Johansen was fouled in the build-up as McShane ploughed through the midfield and fed Obita on the left.

The full-back was not closed down quickly enough by Ryan Fredericks and drilled a low, angled drive in off the far post.



That setback merely served to fire Fulham up, however, and they grabbed a 65th-minute equaliser.

Scott Malone's cross was palmed out by Ali Al Habsi straight onto the head of Cairney, who nodded into an unguarded net for his 13th goal of the season.

However, they could not force a winner and manager Slavisa Jokanovic admitted: "We can't be completely satisfied. We didn't win the game.

"I believe we deserved to score more and win the game but everything is now open for the game on Tuesday night.

"We showed a good reaction after they scored. We had many chances but we were not clinical enough.

"But I didn't expect to beat them 5-0 like we did in December. We will push hard on Tuesday night."

Press Association



http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/watch-jaap-stam-defends-irelands-paul-mcshane-after-reckless-red-card-challenge-35712835.html

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham fans slam 28-year-old after Reading draw – 'Not bothered', 'should be on bench'

Fulham recorded a 1-1 draw against Reading in the first leg of the Championship playoffs semi-finals, with Tom Cairney ensuring the spoils were shared with his second half strike on Saturday.

The Craven Cottage side had hoped to take an advantage into the second leg at the Madejski Stadium in midweek but Slavisa Jokanovic's men are up against it in their efforts to make Wembley.

Fulham have been in scintillating form of late and played some excellent attacking football over the last couple of months.

However, one offensive player seemingly still has not won over the London club's fans, with criticism for Chris Martin after the draw with Reading.

The Scotland international is on loan at Fulham from fellow Championship side Derby County and initially made a positive impression at Craven Cottage.

But, the 28-year-old has now not scored in his last nine games for the club and Martin's place in the side is being questioned by the Cottagers' supporters on Twitter



https://ninetyminutesonline.com/fulham-fans-slam-28-year-old-reading-draw-not-bothered-should-bench/

[WhiteJC]

 
FAN'S VIEW: The Reading players don't deserve wages, let alone promotion after kicking lumps out of Fulham and time wasting

Watching on from afar, Fulham fan Chris Bishop lays into Reading's style of football

If that is the kind of football Reading serve up then they don't deserve wages let alone promotion.

I am sorry, I don't care how care how good a player Jaap Stam was, I was waiting for a thriller on Saturday at Craven Cottage; all we got was the clumsy effort by the Royals to snuff out any kind of creative, passing, football.

It was as frustrating as it was dull. I expected a lot more from the team who finished third in the table.

Two teams were on the pitch on Saturday - only one of them was trying to play football.

Heavens what kind of team starts time wasting in the first half? That lad John Swift who was booked for taking an age over a corner should be ashamed for time wasting in an attacking position.

Reading played most of the game so deep that they were in danger of ending up in Bishop's Park! It seemed the task of the day to see how many players they could pack into their own penalty area.


Horror challenge: Paul McShane earns himself a red card for a high tackle on Kevin McDonald (Photo: Getty Images Europe)

Then there was the kicking of lumps out of the Fulham players. I wondered if Ryan Fredericks had to be kicked into Stevenage Road before the referee did anything. I thought McShane could have finished Kevin McDonald's career with the high boot that got him sent off.

It was also a clear foul by McShane - that went unpunished - that led to Obita's goal with Reading's one and only shot on goal.

When I heard the Reading fans sing "We are going to Wembley" straight after the opening goal - I'm sorry, but I would have been too ashamed to sing at that point after such a performance.

It was a bad day to watch football in Africa. It was a rainy, dark and cloudy as a winter cold front came in. I smiled as I saw Craven Cottage on TV bathed in sunlight, but the day soon darkened on the pitch.



By the way - why so quiet? We should have screamed the place down on Saturday. I have been in the Hammersmith End with 8,000, against Bradford City, when you couldn't hear yourself think. I was making plenty of noise in front of the TV in Johannesburg. At least my 12-year-old son was in the same room, even though he doesn't care a fig for football.

"If it makes you so angry why do you watch?" he asked when he was knee-high and Fulham were on the box every week in the Premier League.

Anyway, he was playing Minecraft and unconcerned about negative football and knee-high tackles. The first time he looked up was when I pointed out that Fredericks has the same hair cut as him.

"No, his is shaved more closely than mine," came the reponse.

The second time he looked up was when I went berserk when Tom Cairney equalised. We may not share an interest in football, but at least we can both tell our grandchildren we saw Cairney score with his head. Speaking of heads, if we do get to Wembley, I'll have the Fredericks shave. Now for Tuesday.



http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/fans-view-reading-players-dont-13032459

[WhiteJC]

 
Jaap Stam On Fulham Play-Off: There Is A Long Way To Go
The Reading manager has his say on the weekend's first leg at Craven Cottage.

After being written off by everyone before the game, the Royals did exactly what they needed to do yesterday at Craven Cottage to take a 1-1 draw back to the Madejski Stadium.

The Royals frustrated Fulham and every football fan around the country, but Reading fans can be proud of how they played. After a quiet first half, we took the front foot early on in the second half and Jordan Obita scored his second goal in as many games, and what a great goal it was too.

Fulham equalised through Tom Cairney shortly after to make it a tense finish. It was made even more nervy when Paul McShane was sent off, and rightly so, towards the end of the game, but we held on and did us fans proud.

Jaap Stam was positive after the game and told the official club website, "Of course, you want to win your games, but coming over here is not the easiest of games.

"They've got a good team as well, otherwise they wouldn't have finished in the top six of the Championship, so it's good to get a draw.

"We started the game very well, very aggressively, not giving them time to play and we succeeded also in going forward and being a threat at times.

"Towards the end of the first half, they got a bit more time to play because we dropped deep too quickly and we spoke about that at half-time.

"We also spoke about keeping those lines very close to each other and, when we win the ball, going forward down the sides. And it happened!

"Jordan Obita bombed forward, got that ball, and it was a great strike - he showed he has a great strike on him last week as well! And we went 1-0 up.

"Then it's a question of what you're going to do as a team - drop in and hold onto that 1-0 or are you going to play your own game and keep trying to go forward?

"Some players wanted to go forward, others went too deep too quick, and they get more possession as a result. And if you give them time and space, they can score goals which is exactly what they did."

The red card for our skipper meant a very nervy ending to the game. The last time we played at the Cottage and went down to 10 men, Fulham took advantage, but this time, Reading saw out the game.

"At 1-1, we get the red card. And we defended well after that, kept it tight, and we didn't give away many chances at all.

"The red card itself, I've seen it back now. He touched the player, but it wasn't deliberate. He wanted to go for the ball and Paul is a tough player, but he's fair. McDonald tapped that ball away from him and he was late in the tackle as a result.

"Macca has been very important for us this season, but he has been out with injury before and other players have stepped up and done a good job.

"Jordan twisted his ankle at the end too - he was stretching, trying to book a cross from Fredericks at the end, but there was no tension in the ankle and he twisted it as he landed. So we'll need to assess it now and see what the injury is.

"But as I say, we've got options - that's the good thing about having a big squad. Throughout the season we've had options to make changes."

So, onto Tuesday night. Let's get the Madejski packed and hopefully continue to celebrate what has been an amazing season.

"The fans were great, just as they were last weekend. And that's what we need again.

"We need their support and I've spoke about it many times. I'm happy with them and I think they're happy with us at the moment - so that's a good thing.

"Everybody is excited for Tuesday, but we won't get over-excited. We're playing with home advantage, but we're still playing against a very good side.

"They need to score, we need to score, so it's going to be a very interesting game between two sides battling against each other. Let's just wait and see what's going to happen.

"For now, we're happy with the draw. But there is a long way to go. And it's going to be a tough game."



http://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2017/5/14/15637382/jaap-stam-on-fulham-play-off-there-is-a-long-way-to-go

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham's historically bad penalty record
We're now in a situation where the next two matches could come down to penalties. How should we feel given Fulham's bad penalty record?

We talked about Fulham's woeful penalty record once before. Since that time, they've improved on their rate, by making two of four attempts. Yes, you heard that right making 50% of their penalties improved their rate. That just shows how bad they were.

Let's quickly update the numbers and this time only focus on penalties that happened in league play. Fulham led the league in penalties taken with 12. In fact Fulham missed more penalties than 18 other teams in the Championship even attempted. If you assume once again that a team will score 77% of their penalties, you'd still only expect a team to miss this often .23% of the time. If we throw out the two penalties that missed the target, you would expect a team to go 4 out of 10 only .17% of the time.

There is still no answer to this. You would have expected Fulham to miss the frame just 1 time in 12 attempts, but missing it 2 out of 12 isn't really that unusual. What is unusual is having 6 attempts saved.

When we last looked at this, all the Fulham attempts but one had gone to the shooters left side, and the keeper had dived to that side on all 9 attempts. Since then, Tim Ream had shot to the right and the keeper guessed correctly; but the shot was off frame. Tom Cairney went to the right two times in a row with the keeper going the wrong way on each one, both scored. Finally, against Brentford Cairney went right again with the keeper guessing correctly. We had suggested mixing up going right and left, but I'm not sure going right four times in a row is really mixing it up. That being said, of the four penalties taken in that time, the keeper guessed right half the time. You would expect the keeper to guess right half the time.

Does this mean Fulham's penalty woes are fixed? Are you going to be on the edge of your seat if Fulham needs to score on a penalty to win? What about if the tie needs penalties to decide the winner? With the first leg ending in a draw, penalties are a real possibility and not something this Fulham fan is looking forward to.



http://cottagersconfidential.sbnation.com/2017/5/14/15624564/fulham-historically-bad-penalty-record-championship-playoff-shootout

[WhiteJC]

 
Reading FC skipper Paul McShane defends actions after red card during play-off semi-final at Fulham

Royals' defender was sent off for a high challenge late in the game on Saturday

Paul McShane has defended his actions after receiving a straight red card in the 1-1 draw at Fulham on Saturday.

The Reading FC skipper was dismissed on 80 minutes by referee Stuart Attwell in the first leg of the Championship play-off semi-final at Craven Cottage.

McShane went in high on Fulham midfielder Kevin McDonald and after consulting with his linesman, Attwell brandished the red card .

The defender claims, however, he was tugged back which resulted in him making the high challenge in the middle of the pitch, near to the dugouts.

McShane wrote on Twitter: "Great performance from everyone yesterday [Saturday] but still hard work to be done.

"I have to take my red on the chin but it was a genuine attempt to win a breaking ball.

"I was pulled back which meant I'm leaning back and why my foot has gone high. Keep the faith #urzz"




http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/reading-fc-skipper-paul-mcshane-13034175

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham Slap A Hefty Price Tag On Their Star Midfielder: Should Newcastle United Still Go For Him?



Newcastle United earned an immediate return back to the Premier League by clinching the Championship title under the tutelage of Rafael Benitez. Despite getting demoted last season from the English top flight, the Magpies didn't let their spirits wither away, regrouped themselves very quickly and kept producing handsomely consistent results which were masterminded by Benitez and the output they have mustered is the testament to the same.

The former Real Madrid boss would have to keep channelising the club in the right direction in the Premier League and thus, adding the necessary weaponry to their armoury during the summer transfer window shall hold paramount importance for the Geordies. One of the players to have been on Benitez's radar for quite some time now is Fulham's sensational midfielder, Tom Cairney. However, with no pressure on the Cottagers to sell Cairney, they have slapped a price tag of £20 million on him as they aim to keep him in their books beyond the ongoing campaign.

The midfielder has emerged as one of the most tantalising prospects which the English soil offers at this stroke of the hour. The Toons are looking for quality to bolster their ranks and without any shadow of a doubt, Cairney ticks many boxes of an appealing midfielder. The Scot generally operates as a central attacking midfielder, although he is capable enough to be plying his trade as a central midfielder as well as a central defensive midfielder. He has emerged as Fulham's well-oiled midfield engine and has been one of the main reasons why the London-based outfit made it to the playoffs.

The 26-year-old has been in an absolutely fantastic form for Slavisa Jokanovic's side this season, banging 13 goals and registering 10 assists in 46 Championship appearances. Apart from this, he has clocked an eye-catchy pass accuracy of 92.5% with as many as 2.6 key passes per game on an average and no wonder why his stocks have risen so much. He holds on to the ball well, has an excellent and precise passing range, frequently tests the goalkeeper, holds the ball well in the final third and ejects meticulous crosses as well.

Cairney is Fulham's prized asset and his price tag shouldn't really be questioned in any manner whatsoever as it makes complete sense. Newcastle United are a big club and should be looking forward to making the necessary and adequate investments over the course of the summer transfer window and the Fulham star should top their wish-list. Benitez would be doing himself as well as his side a massive favour if he manages to convince the board to lure the former Blackburn Rovers man to St. James' Park.

Statistics Credits: WhoScored.com



http://the4thofficial.net/2017/05/fulham-slap-hefty-price-tag-star-midfielder-newcastle-united-still-go/

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham fear loss of star players if club fail to achieve promotion to the Premier League via play-offs

    Tom Cairney and Ryan Sessegnon have been linked with moves to bigger clubs
    Fulham drew first leg of Championship play-off 1-1 against Reading at home
    Defender Ryan Fredericks spoke of importance of club earning promotion 
    He said: 'It is very important that we go up because then we have a better chance of keeping our best players'

Fulham feel they cannot afford to miss out on Premier League promotion otherwise they will lose their star players this summer.

Tom Cairney and Ryan Sessegnon – the wonderkid who will be eligible to sign his first professional contract when he turns 17 this week – are among those being chased by other clubs.

The west Londoners drew 1-1 in their Championship play-off semi final first leg at Craven Cottage on Saturday and travel to Reading tomorrow for the return leg.


Tom Cairney (centre) has been linked with a move away from Fulham in the summer


Ryan Sessegnon (left) is another young star who Fulham will be desperate to cling on to

'It is very important that we go up because then we have a better chance of keeping our best players,' said Fulham defender Ryan Fredericks.

'There is always going to be interest from other clubs when you have players doing so well. This is the best chance we have had for a few years to go up – hopefully we can do it.

'Tom (Cairney) – technically he is very good, the best passer of a football in the league by a long way. Those sort of qualities would see him shine in the Premier League.

Any Premier League team would be lucky to have him but we have got him at the moment and let him do the job for us.

'Everyone is focused on doing this for Fulham. Everyone wants to play for Fulham in the Premier League.

'So there will be no talk of going anywhere else, the minds are set on promotion. After the season is done, that is when talks happen. Until that point, we are all trying to get Fulham up.'

Sessegnon turns 17 on Thursday and the teenager is set to sign a contract with Fulham, regardless of whether they make it to the play-off final at Wembley or not.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have looked at Sessegnon, who could still be sold in the summer. Him signing a deal with Fulham will not put off the Premier League's giants.


Fulham were held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Championship play-off with Reading



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4505446/Fulham-fear-loss-star-players-without-promotion.html#ixzz4h82huJQs
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham's Ryan Fredericks fears losing their top players if they don't win promotion via play-offs


Fulham's Ryan Fredericks appeals for a penalty during the first leg of the play-off semi-final against Reading Credit: Rex

The Championship play-off final is regularly dubbed the £100 million match because of the riches on offer for clubs promoted to the Premier League, but the penalties for failure are seldom calculated. For Fulham they could include the loss of players such as captain Tom Cairney to existing Premier League clubs, which makes beating Reading in Tuesday's semi-final second leg at the Madejski Stadium even more vital.

Defender Ryan Fredericks said after Saturday's first-leg draw: "It is very important that we go up, because then we have a better chance of keeping our best players.

"Tom is technically very good, the best passer of a football in the league by a long way. Any Premier League team would be lucky to have him, but we have got him at the moment and so let him do the job for us. Everyone wants to play for Fulham in the Premier League, so there will be no talk of anything else or going anywhere else. Our minds are set on promotion."

Fulham had to come from behind on Saturday, Cairney cancelling out Jordan Obita's opener, but Fredericks believes the tie is still anybody's. "We have the second best away form in the league and they are going to have to come out," he said. ""The last 10 games or so we have been playing the style that the gaffer [Slavisa Jokanovic] wants, and beating most teams. As long as we keep playing our game, we can win the play-offs."

Reading also believe that the outcome remains in the balance, with home advantage offset by the absence of Paul McShane, their captain, sent off with 10 minutes to go on Saturday for a knee-high challenge on Kevin McDonald.

Ali Al Habsi, the Reading goalkeeper, said: "Everyone feels sorry for Macca, but I feel sure we can win the match and get to Wembley and the Premier League for him,"

""We beat them 1-0 at home in the regular season, and we just need to do that again. But we have to be respectful, and we know we have to be ready for anything."




http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/05/14/fulhamsryan-fredericks-fears-losing-top-players-dont-win-promotion/

[WhiteJC]

 
Newcastle United needs Fulham to lose for an easier swoop of Cairney

Newcastle United supporters should be rooting against Fulham in the promotion playoffs, to make acquiring Tom Cairney more possible.

With Fulham battling for Premier League promotion, Newcastle United will be watching Lilywhites' midfielder Tom Cairney. He has been discussed as a transfer target of Rafa Benitez all season.

Before arriving at Fulham in 2015, he played for Hull City and Blackburn Rovers. The 26 year old had 13 goals, along with 10 assists, in Sky Bet Championship play this year. He led Fulham to the playoffs for promotion, and equalized their first leg to secure a draw.

If Fulham secures promotion this season, they will be much less likely to part with their superstar as they move up to the EPL. However, if they lose out, Cairney is surely going to want to move away from another season in the lower division.

Newcastle United is going to be far from the only Premier League suitor of Cairney. He will attract a huge pursuit, and will not come cheap. The latest rumored cost for his services is €20 million.

No matter what the cost is, Newcastle United's chase for Tom Cairney will be aided by a playoff exit for Fulham. They play their second leg fixture against Reading this Tuesday.



http://newcastletoons.com/2017/05/15/newcastle-united-needs-fulham-lose-easier-swoop-cairney/

[bog]

So McShane was 'a bit late'? Oh right.


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[JoelH5]

So McShane was 'a bit late'? Oh right.


092.gif

He was so late he was in the bloody Middle Ages!!!

Apparently the crowd got him sent off haha.

[cookieg]

And he got tugged back. At least Stam didn't do the "he's not that sort of player, loves his mother and wouldn't hurt a fly"

[bog]

What is their number 4 saying? 'Oye! What you doing you twit? Get your knee out of the way of his horizontal studs!!!'


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[Bill2]

Fulham's Ryan Fredericks fears losing their top players if they don't win promotion via play-offs


Fulham's Ryan Fredericks appeals for a penalty during the first leg of the play-off semi-final against Reading Credit: Rex

The Championship play-off final is regularly dubbed the £100 million match because of the riches on offer for clubs promoted to the Premier League, but the penalties for failure are seldom calculated. For Fulham they could include the loss of players such as captain Tom Cairney to existing Premier League clubs, which makes beating Reading in Tuesday's semi-final second leg at the Madejski Stadium even more vital.

Defender Ryan Fredericks said after Saturday's first-leg draw: "It is very important that we go up, because then we have a better chance of keeping our best players.

"Tom is technically very good, the best passer of a football in the league by a long way. Any Premier League team would be lucky to have him, but we have got him at the moment and so let him do the job for us. Everyone wants to play for Fulham in the Premier League, so there will be no talk of anything else or going anywhere else. Our minds are set on promotion."

Fulham had to come from behind on Saturday, Cairney cancelling out Jordan Obita's opener, but Fredericks believes the tie is still anybody's. "We have the second best away form in the league and they are going to have to come out," he said. ""The last 10 games or so we have been playing the style that the gaffer [Slavisa Jokanovic] wants, and beating most teams. As long as we keep playing our game, we can win the play-offs."

Reading also believe that the outcome remains in the balance, with home advantage offset by the absence of Paul McShane, their captain, sent off with 10 minutes to go on Saturday for a knee-high challenge on Kevin McDonald.

Ali Al Habsi, the Reading goalkeeper, said: "Everyone feels sorry for Macca, but I feel sure we can win the match and get to Wembley and the Premier League for him,"

""We beat them 1-0 at home in the regular season, and we just need to do that again. But we have to be respectful, and we know we have to be ready for anything."




http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/05/14/fulhamsryan-fredericks-fears-losing-top-players-dont-win-promotion/

Excellent photo, it clearly shows the foul where the Reading player is lying across Ryan and stopping getting up to recover the ball.

[Neil D]

That's a great photo of the McShane tackle.  Says everything you need to know.

[cookieg]

Fulham's Ryan Fredericks fears losing their top players if they don't win promotion via play-offs


Fulham's Ryan Fredericks appeals for a penalty during the first leg of the play-off semi-final against Reading Credit: Rex

The Championship play-off final is regularly dubbed the £100 million match because of the riches on offer for clubs promoted to the Premier League, but the penalties for failure are seldom calculated. For Fulham they could include the loss of players such as captain Tom Cairney to existing Premier League clubs, which makes beating Reading in Tuesday's semi-final second leg at the Madejski Stadium even more vital.

Defender Ryan Fredericks said after Saturday's first-leg draw: "It is very important that we go up, because then we have a better chance of keeping our best players.

"Tom is technically very good, the best passer of a football in the league by a long way. Any Premier League team would be lucky to have him, but we have got him at the moment and so let him do the job for us. Everyone wants to play for Fulham in the Premier League, so there will be no talk of anything else or going anywhere else. Our minds are set on promotion."

Fulham had to come from behind on Saturday, Cairney cancelling out Jordan Obita's opener, but Fredericks believes the tie is still anybody's. "We have the second best away form in the league and they are going to have to come out," he said. ""The last 10 games or so we have been playing the style that the gaffer [Slavisa Jokanovic] wants, and beating most teams. As long as we keep playing our game, we can win the play-offs."

Reading also believe that the outcome remains in the balance, with home advantage offset by the absence of Paul McShane, their captain, sent off with 10 minutes to go on Saturday for a knee-high challenge on Kevin McDonald.

Ali Al Habsi, the Reading goalkeeper, said: "Everyone feels sorry for Macca, but I feel sure we can win the match and get to Wembley and the Premier League for him,"

""We beat them 1-0 at home in the regular season, and we just need to do that again. But we have to be respectful, and we know we have to be ready for anything."




http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/05/14/fulhamsryan-fredericks-fears-losing-top-players-dont-win-promotion/

Excellent photo, it clearly shows the foul where the Reading player is lying across Ryan and stopping getting up to recover the ball.

I'm afraid you must be confused. Federicks clearly slid under the Reading player, how else would he be where he is??

[MikeW]

I'm still trying to work out who 'tugged' McShane?  Look at the close up pic earlier in the thread.  The only Fulham player close has his hands in the air at the moment of impact.  To quote a West London MP on Andrew Marr yesterday - bollocks!

[snarks]

It was Kebano who was close to him, and there is a bit of contact between them before mcshane lunges at McDonald, still his foot was far too high. Also note mcshane's attempt to kick Johansen, when Johansen fouls him just before Obita scores. No Reading fans are defending him though.

[dannyboi-ffc]

Bump